9. The Pedestrian Plaza Wasn’t Initially Permanent 

The pedestrian plazas, designed by Gehl Architects, were installed as part of a six-month pilot in 2009. While new Mayor Bill de Blasio has painted himself an advocate of increasing multimodal mobility, his stance when it comes to transportation and public space is not uniformly progressive. When asked “Would you take out the tables and chairs from Times Square and Herald Square and re-open Broadway?,” de Blasio answered, “I have profoundly mixed feeling on this issue. I’m a motorist myself and I was often frustrated — and then I’ve also seen on the other hand it does seem to have a positive impact on the tourist industry.”